Abounding Grace

Pastor Ed Taylor: Who knows what God wants to do in your life financially? I don't know. But I do know this: God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, for you. He has given us His best. And He, the Bible says, He's never seen the righteous beg bread. There's always going to be enough daily bread, daily help.

Guest (Male): Previously on Abounding Grace, we've noted the detailed instructions that were given for the construction of the tabernacle. Now, in chapter 35, it's time to start the building process. Like building projects of today, it necessitates the people of God giving and working. And as we're about to see, the people responded with incredible generosity. With that said, God is looking for a willing heart in this area, and that's the emphasis of today's message from Pastor Ed Taylor.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Open your Bibles to Exodus chapter 35. We're ambitious today, trying to cover two chapters as we come to the end of Exodus. A lot of it's repetition, some of it is not, but we're going to start in Exodus 35, and I've entitled our Bible study "Being Available with a Willing Heart." Being available with a willing heart.

As we've studied the life of Moses, after all that he's seen and all that he's experienced up to this point, he still wanted more. He wanted more of the Lord. He wanted to see the face of God. He wanted to press in on behalf of the people. He wanted more. And it's my heart and desire that you want more of what God has for you. But not just something from God, but someone. That we want more.

And that's the heart of a growing Christian: the desire for more. I want more growth. I want more strength. I want more vision. I want more obedience. I want all that God has for me. I want all that God has for my family, for my marriage, for my kids, for my grandchild. For all that God has, I want more. I want more for you.

When I pray for the life of our church, I see the pressing needs in our church, and I see the overwhelming growth, and I see the things that are coming in the life of our church that some of you didn't experience when we first moved in so many years ago. God has said, "I want to do it again." And it's time to press in, not to be afraid, not to try to control, but to ask God for all that He wants.

We opened up the year, do you remember the theme? The theme of this year, this is what we opened up with. The theme was "Take it All." God says, "Here's the land, go in and take it. Take it all. Everything that I've given you, I want you to experience it. All that I've promised for you, I want you to enjoy. I want more of You, Lord, more of all that You have. Not His stuff, but Him. Not His gifts, but Him."

You remember back in Exodus chapter 33, Moses was there in, pick up if you want to just turn back a couple pages, in verse 22. It says, "And so it shall be, while My glory passes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen."

And there was that moment where Moses was able to enjoy the glory of God. He got a glimpse of God passing by. He says, "Stand in this place, this cleft of the rock, and I'm going to pass by you." And that put a new hunger, I believe, in Moses's heart for the glory that was available to him. The same glory that he saw on the Mount of Transfiguration. He got to see Jesus in all of His glory.

And he says, "I want more." And he experiences that afterglow, and he hears the instructions of God being repeated to him. And then at the end of chapter 34, Moses comes down from the mountain and his face shone, and they had to cover it up. It caused a holy fear to come upon the people. It was so glorious, they needed a veil, his face covering him. Moses was full of the glory of God. It was noticeable.

I want you to keep that in mind and now as we pick up in chapter 35, verse 1. "Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together and said to them, 'These are the words which the Lord has commanded you to do. Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day.'" Here are the words of the Lord: keep the Sabbath. If you violate this, you're going to die.

And how true that is. If we're not taking time to enjoy the presence of God, if we're not resting at least one day a week seeking Him, seeking His rest, we die. Oh, today it's not physically as it was in the Old Covenant, but we die in so many different ways. We begin to shrivel up. None of us were designed or built to work seven days or eight days or 10 days without meaningful rest.

But not just physical rest. There is a principle. There is a principle: work six days and rest physically. But also to learn spiritually. It's to the weary and to the heavy-laden Jesus invites, "Come to Me and I will give you rest." That deep rest in your soul. He wouldn't invite us unless we needed it in those seasons where we neglect it.

And so many today I'm finding are discovering how wonderful it is to be used by the Lord, to press into the things of God, but also to learn the rhythms that are needed to rest and work, rest and serve. But if I'm only giving out and I'm not getting refueled or recharged, then I'm going to dry up. I'm going to find myself tired and weary and heavy-laden. The Sabbath for them, a very important day.

But again, by the time Jesus comes on the scene, they had completely changed it into a religious ritual that needed to be kept and checked and checked off the list. But God's heart was to honor Him and hallow Him and not forget Him. Notice now, pick up in verse 4.

So Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, "This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying, 'Take from among you an offering to the Lord.'" And I love this phrase. Again, mark it when you see it. "Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, bronze, blue, purple, scarlet yarn, fine linen thread, goat hair, ram skins dyed red, badger skins, acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense, onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate."

Verse 10: "All who are skillful among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded: the tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, the ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering; the table, its poles, all its utensils, and the showbread; also the lampstand for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light; the incense altar, its poles, the anointing oil, sweet incense, the screen for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle."

Verse 16: "The altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, all its utensils, and the laver and its base; the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, the screen for the gate of the court; the pegs of the tabernacle, the pegs for the court, and their cords; the garments of ministry for the ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons to minister as priests."

And then in verse 20, "And to all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord's offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, brought earrings and nose rings and rings and necklaces and jewelry of gold, that is, every man who offered an offering of gold to the Lord. And every man with whom was found blue, purple, and scarlet fine linen, goat's hair, red skins of rams, badger skins, they brought them."

I love verse 5. I love this theme. It's so important for us to be in tune with the Holy Spirit. What is God looking for but a willing heart? That's what He's looking for. There's two now, two summaries that Moses brings for now the building of the tabernacle and the fence around it and all the worship utensils and clothing. Two things: giving and working. Those two things: giving and working.

Those that were skilled were going to work. God gave them the skills for this particular purpose. But also those to the broader camp, those who have a willing heart now must give. They must give to help for the building of the tabernacle. These are the ones I want you to bring an offering. I want you to be willing.

Is it in your heart to give to the work of the Lord? That's a question for us. We have to ask it. Am I willing to participate in the work of the Lord through the giving? Listen, this is what He's asking. Am I willing to participate in the work of the Lord in giving a portion of what He has given to me? I mean, because after all, when we look at our lives, exactly how much has the Lord given us? All. All of it. He's given us the mind, He's given us the education, He's given us the training, the job, everything we have has been given to us by the Lord.

Now, it can be an offensive thing to hear if you are a hard worker, or if you're very well-educated, or if you pulled a double today and you're just rolling into church. You're thinking, "Who is this guy telling me I don't work?" I know you work. But I want you to remember your willingness to work, your skill, everything you have is from the Lord. There isn't anything that we have that hasn't come from Him first.

And what He's looking for in our lives is willingness. You can jot it down in 1 Chronicles chapter 29, verse 9: "Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the Lord, and King David also rejoiced greatly." That giving with a willingness. Paul would later say in Corinthians not to give grudgingly.

He talked about in his teaching their giving within the tithes and the giving within the church, but there's a broader application that we would learn to give not grudgingly. There's a lot of reasons why men and women don't desire to give today. I think that there is this clasping on with fear and maybe just a tenacity to hold on to what you have and your hands are always closed.

And when your hands are always closed filled with something, it doesn't open and provide the opportunity for God to fill your empty hands. To fill your empty hands. Perhaps, secondly, you don't give because you've been burned. And that's hard when you've been burned, when you've been taken advantage of, or you passed through a church that taught you wrong and only saw you for your money and only saw you for some self-enrichment.

I'm sorry. You were lied to. That's not true. God doesn't need your money. You can say amen to that. God doesn't need your money. Some preachers are up here begging their churches like God is broke. God's not broke. We might be broke. God's not broke. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He can provide for all of our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. He's not broke.

But giving is a tool that God uses not to raise money. God uses giving to raise disciples. Because you can measure and I can measure my heart by my heart to give or not. I can know, I can see in my own life as I've seen different seasons where I've become cynical or I've had different things going on in my mind where my heart wasn't so willing and I would just do the bare minimum. I'll just do the bare minimum in my giving.

And I'm certain that the Lord was pleased with that, but I knew in my own heart that there was something God was working out. And He wanted to work it out through money. And through time. Or through some extra phone call or some extra thing that's going to press upon my life. I know that there are those that might teach you, "No, no, give, give generously. And if you don't have the money to give, put it on your Visa and put it on your MasterCard. You need to give, sow your seeds of faith. Give your best faith offering." Don't listen to them. That's all nonsense.

Here's the measure of your giving, you ready? Just ask God for a willing heart and He'll take care of that. Just ask for a willing heart. Just say, "Lord, You know my heart toward giving. You know this is an issue for me. You know the struggle I'm having. You know all about me, Lord, but this is an area I need You to touch in my life. I need to be willing. I need You to build in me faith and leadership once again, or faith in a ministry, or I just need You, God, to move upon my heart."

Because it's almost as if God's saying here to the Israelites through Moses, but also to us in the 21st century when it comes to willingness. If God is saying everyone that's willing, bring your offering, then He's also saying the opposite, isn't He? If you're not willing, keep it. Don't bring it. I don't want it from you if it's not willing. Like if you don't want to give, then don't give.

And I'd apply that right here in this church. Everyone listening, you don't want to give, then don't give. That's between you and the Lord. You want to suffer the consequences of disobedience? That's between you and the Lord. You want to wrestle with God your whole life over money? That's between you and the Lord.

But there's always needs in this church. You know that. There's always needs, there's always big steps of faith, there's always something that the Lord's calling this church corporately to do as a large group, but also individually. And you know what? Every single time 25 years, God provides. Every single time more than enough. More than enough to be generous to help other churches, more than enough.

We as a church family, we follow what we believe the Bible. We pour into missions, we pour into outreach, we help. We step into as a church family because we believe what God says in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, that God loves a cheerful giver. He loves that. It's something where you enjoy the sweetness with God.

And then in that same passage in the New Living Translation, Paul also writes, "Don't give reluctantly in response to pressure." I like that. Don't give reluctantly in response to pressure. Give out of a willing heart of what God has given to you. That's why He's set it up for us to give of the first fruits.

Every time we notice increase in our life, we give God the glory for it. Every time we see God taking care of us, we give God the glory for it. Every time we have something when we had nothing, we give God the glory through it. Because we have willing hearts. When I give cheerfully, the joy of the Lord wells up within me. I enjoy hearing and seeing all the fruit of what God is doing.

When I give, this is our church family. I've shared this with you many times, our church family, it's where I've grown up for the last 25 years, where my kids have grown up, so we give to our church. So when I hear a testimony, I'm like, "Yeah, amen." That's something not only as a pastor that I believe God was doing, but also as a believer. I'm just like, "Yeah, amen."

When I hear a testimony, I say, "Yes, that's our church. That's what God is doing through the life of the ministry here." When I see a need met or I see a picture or whatever it may be, I'm like, "Yes, Lord, that's what I want to partner with. That's the ministry that just as Ed the believer, I want to partner with. I want to obey You and then enjoy the blessings. I want to enjoy all that You're doing. I want to see it."

I'm a small part of it. In a large church like this, I'm just a small part as a giver. We're all just small parts, but isn't it amazing what God can do when He puts a lot of small parts together? It's unbelievable what God can do through the power of the church. For the nation here, what God is asking this nation that just came out of Egypt. There's all kinds of different estimates on the money part, but it's over a billion dollars He's asking.

A conservative estimate of all that He's asking, it's a billion dollars' worth of goods, if not billion, millions from this little nation that came out of Egypt after years of slavery. And that's a big offering. But God enabled these former slaves to give and to give generously.

I love this, notice in verse 20. It says, "And the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses." So the command from God was given, and then everyone left. They heard the invitation to give, and then they left. They departed. Why? I want you to see that there's not any pressure being put on them here. Moses isn't guilting them. Isn't saying, "You can't leave until."

I've seen a lot of this in churches where they'll have people at the doors. "You can't leave until we get this offering." They count the offering up on the stage. "It's not enough. You need to give more." That's not God. That's men ripping people off in the name of God. And God will deal with them.

And even today, if you have ever given under pressure, and you gave because you were genuinely worshiping God and you were sincere and you believed the guy or the gal for a while and you're like, "Man," and you start beating yourself up, just trust the Lord with it and move forward. Don't regret, don't look back, just learn from it. And now you can come alongside someone else and go, "Hey, look, this is what the Bible says. I know what they're saying, but this is what the Bible says."

And every dollar you give, I have to say this too, for knowing this goes out on the radio. It's very important. If you've ever fallen for sowing the seeds and you've ever given like, "Well, you're going to get a thousandfold or a hundredfold," you do have a responsibility for that. You know that, right? You need to repent of your greed. That's a greedy thing to do. "I think I want to give at church so I can get a hundredfold back."

That's not a willing heart. That's a greedy heart. And there is an element where you need to take responsibility and say, "No, no, God, I don't want a greedy heart. I want a willing heart. I'm not looking for anything in return." Why would I look for anything in return, Lord, because You've given all of it to me?

Now, God, You know my needs. You know my desire. You know I have this bill, or You know I have this with my son, You know I'm a single mom, a single dad. You know my needs, Lord, but I don't want to come to You greedy. I want to come to You humble. I want to come to You asking and seeking and knocking because that's what You told me to do. I don't want to fall prey to, in a weak vulnerable moment, somebody's lie that if I sow some type of seed, then I'll get a hundredfold increase.

Who knows what God wants to do in your life financially? I don't know. But I do know this: God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, for you. He has given us His best. And He, the Bible says, He's never seen the righteous beg bread. There's always going to be enough daily bread, daily help. And I love this, there's no pressure. Just go and pray about it. Just go and seek God. This is what He says. That's what Moses comes... this is what He says. Now you guys go.

Guest (Male): This is Abounding Grace, and you're listening to a message from Pastor and Bible teacher Ed Taylor. Catch a replay when you visit aboundinggraceradio.com or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Here in the month of May, we've picked out an excellent book written by Chuck Smith called *When the Storm Hits*. If you're struggling with life's burdens, this is a must-read. From the ability to discern spiritual warfare and how it can affect our emotions, to the realization that God is intimately aware of everything we are going through, this book will restore hope and peace to the weariest of believers.

God may not always deliver us from the storms of life, but He is faithful to be with us as we go through them. And we'll send you a copy with our thanks for a gift of $25 or more to Abounding Grace. Please remember, it is through your financial support that we're able to come to you day by day on stations all across the nation.

Your gift, whatever the size, would be greatly appreciated and put to good use. Request your book today by calling us toll-free at 877-30-GRACE. Again, 877-30-GRACE. You can also order the book online at calvaryco.store. And if you'd rather not have the book but still want to make a donation, that can be done rather easily at aboundinggraceradio.com.

And we'd like to connect with you before the day is done. Say hello, tell us what God is up to in your life when you visit aboundinggraceradio.com and then click on "Contact Us." And then be sure to join Pastor Ed next time for more teaching from the book of Exodus. That's all right here on Abounding Grace. Abounding Grace is brought to you by Calvary Church Colorado here in Aurora.